When Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci of Dimorestudio unveiled their new furniture brand Interni Venosta in 2024, they told us they wanted to create something 'elegant but super easy to live with'. The growing collection has so far encompassed tables, chairs, lighting and beds, all showcasing the designers’ signature eclecticism while also introducing a contemporary yet timeless language to the new brand. The latest launch from Interni Venosta is a compact series of expressive vases – the ‘Destroyer’ collection, featuring colourful vessels that are at once a playful interpretation of a classic and a sophisticated material exercise.

The starting point for each vase comes from a place that feels as far from Moran and Salci's regular material choices as can be. They chose to work with laundry detergent bottles, their colourful plastic surfaces defining the look of the collection. The humble vessels are enriched with brass, bronze and steel details, their final forms still nodding to their utilitarian past but becoming something new altogether.

It's like looking at two things at once: a precious creation and a remainder of everyday banality. The bright hues, coupled with the noble materials (arranged with typical Dimorestudio flair) make the collection a piece of delicious eye candy while also prompting a moment of reflection on waste and the preciousness of craft.

We spoke with Britt Moran about the collection and how it was conceived.

Interni Venosta ‘Destroyer’ vases: interview with Britt Moran

Wallpaper*: When did you first have the idea for the ‘Destroyer’ collection and how did you develop it?

Britt Moran: The idea came from a desire to ennoble what we usually throw away. ‘Destroyer’ started as a reflection on waste: on how certain objects, once stripped of their function, become invisible. We wanted to give them a second life, not by repairing them, but by transforming them into something unexpected. The project began with spontaneous, almost aggressive gestures: breaking, cutting, burning. But behind that violence, there’s a precise intent: to reveal hidden beauty in what is usually considered useless. Each vase is the result of this contradiction: destruction as a form of elevation.

W*: How do you choose the pieces to work with? What shapes or materials are you most attracted to?

BM: We start from the most ordinary things: containers everyone has at home, often hidden under the sink or in a storage cabinet. Bottles of floor cleaner, jugs for marble polish, plastic canisters for detergents and degreasers. What fascinates us is not just their functionality, but their distinctive visual language: standardised shapes combined with highly recognisable colours: acid greens, synthetic blues, harsh yellows. These are objects designed to be seen and understood instantly, even unconsciously. Their forms are simple, repetitive, but strangely iconic. We collect them, strip them of their original meaning, and let them become something else.

W*: Can you tell me more about the process of transforming each contained into a vase? How are the materials mixed and applied?

BM: Emiliano meticulously studies each bottle individually to decide how best to apply the metal elements, making sure the intervention respects and transforms the original shape. The metal parts, made in artisanal foundries using traditional casting techniques, are carefully designed to fit and interact with the plastic base.

The process involves a deep dialogue between plastic and metal: sometimes the metal wraps around, sometimes it interrupts or pierces the original form. The choice of steel, brass, and bronze is deliberate, adding material weight and a sense of permanence to objects that would otherwise be disposable. This craftsmanship and attention to detail turn each vase into a unique sculptural piece, both an homage to and a subversion of industrial design.

W*: How does the language of these pieces represent Interni Venosta?

BM: The ‘Destroyer’ collection expresses the core of Interni Venosta’s rigorous and rational design approach. The proportions and the combination of materials make the collection, crafted by Fabbri Services, ageless. Each piece preserves the essential geometry of the original object, stripping away any superfluous elements, and introduces precise metal insertions that redefine its presence.

This disciplined language reflects our belief in design as a system of relationships, where materiality and form are measured and deliberate. ‘Destroyer’ rejects ornamentation and sentimentality; instead, it focuses on the integrity of the object and the rigour of transformation. It is a study in restraint, where every intervention is intentional and essential, reinforcing a vision of design grounded in clarity and order.

Vases are made to order – full details at internivenosta.com

A phone rings without answer. A bathtub overflows. Smashed china litters the dining room floor, while piano keys tinkle. In this fictional 1970s villa, something nefarious is afoot, but as witnesses to this eerily realistic scene, we’re never quite sure what’s happened. Created by the visionary designers behind Dimorestudio for Loro Piana, the experience at Milan Design Week 2025 is described by the studio as ‘an immersive installation exploring the boundary between reality and cinematic fiction through the spaces of an elegant house.’

Dimorestudio’s presentations during the annual Salone del Mobile are often amongst the most highly anticipated, and this year was no different. The design duo, Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, teamed up with the luxury Italian fashion brand – which has seen soaring popularity thanks to the recent ‘quiet luxury’ trend – to stage this experience within the Cortile della Seta courtyard at the maison’s headquarters in the city.

Storm in a teacup: Dimorestudio’s cinema-inflected apartment is set to the sounds of a rainstorm

Titled La Prima Notte di Quiete, the installation showcases new furniture pieces created by Dimoremilano – the studio’s furniture brand – for Loro Piana Interiors, along with classics from the studio’s portfolio reimagined in Loro Piana fabrics. These items are displayed in a highly produced series of residential vignettes that are revealed as the experience progresses.

Guests are initially guided into a foyer modelled on a vintage cinema, dressed with heavy red velvet curtains and leopard-print carpet. They move through several holding areas created by the tall curtains, before finally entering a pitch-black space. One by one, rooms of a fictional 1970s or 80s villa are illuminated in concert with a soundtrack produced by music composer and multimedia artist Nicola Guiducci.

With the scene set during a stormy night, sounds of thunder accompany the water running down glass panels. Voices can occasionally be heard over what appears to be some sort of commotion, which is represented visually in the subtle disarray of the interiors – crumpled bed sheets, strewn grapes, out-of-place throw pillows. The level of detail, down to the half-read book on the sofa and a suggestion of mould around the ceiling, is quite astonishing.

‘The plausibility is achieved by the perfect balance of the décor, where distinct objects of various natures and origins coexist, as in homes where the sophisticated taste of the inhabitants is expressed through never-banal choices,’ says Dimorestudio.

Notable pieces that form the installation include the ‘Varallo’ round bed, which features a tubular steel element that wraps around the boxspring base and through a padded roller that forms a headboard – both upholstered in Mohair velvet. The same steel element connects the legs of the ‘Valsesia’ oval dining table, supporting a lacquered wood top with an Altai wool and cashmere fabric centre.

Other luxuriously crafted cabinets, seating, lighting and decor items are interwoven into the villa setting, all appearing as if they’d been collected over time by its owners. These include classic Dimoremilano designs like the ‘Tavolo 089’, the ‘Dega’, the ‘Sciura’, and the ‘Patty’ armchairs, reinterpreted in Loro Piana Interiors fabrics. ‘These designs emphasise tactile luxury, creating an inviting atmosphere where every detail contributes to a harmonious whole,’ the studio says.

This installation presents the debut of Loro Piana’s ‘Punti a Maglia’ porcelain tableware, which is handcrafted by artisans in Limoges, but unfortunately appears to have been shattered into pieces in this villa.

The vignettes also feature antique sculptures and artworks, sourced from Tornabuoni Art, Cardi Gallery, Galleria Gracis and Secci Gallery. Several are positioned in the holding areas, while others are mounted in metal and glass vitrines within and between the various rooms.

‘Like in a film – conceived and directed by Dimorestudio – that overturns expectations, the cinematic twist of the installation transports visitors into another dimension,’ says the studio.

Dimorestudio has built its reputation on a cinematic approach to design, delighting and confounding audiences through immersive, multisensorial presentations. With this installation, the influences from legendary filmmakers David Lynch and Federico Fellini are evident, and as a masterclass in set design, the installation intentionally leaves more questions than answers.

When exiting, visitors are presented with a golden, engraved key as a parting gift. Were we the ones who let ourselves into the villa, and are responsible for causing all the commotion on this ‘first night of tranquility’? As usual, Dimorestudio leaves us wondering, and in wonder.

dimorestudio.eu
loropiana.com

La Prima Notte di Quiete is on view until Sunday, April 13th, at Via Della Moscova 33, Milan 20121. Timed reservations required.

Milan Design Week 2025 saw the fashion contingent put on its most comprehensive showing at the design fair to date, taking up residence in some of the city’s storied landmarks to do so.

From Gucci’s ‘Bamboo Encounters’ staged in the cloisters of San Simpliciano and Aesop’s ‘The Second Skin’ exhibition in the sacristy of the Chiesa del Carmine, to Loewe at the Palazzo Citterio and Prada Frames taking over the iconic Milano Centrale station, the showcase proved a heady melting pot of sensorial immersions and design collaborations.

Here, Scarlett Conlon highlights the standout fashion moments of Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2025 – from Loewe’s playful artist-designed teapots to a blockbuster Charlotte Perriand exhibition from Saint Laurent.

Georg Jensen’s ‘Gelateria Danese’

Danish design house Georg Jensen provided Milan Design Week’s most palatable pit stop: Gelateria Danese, an ephemeral ice cream parlour that drew inspiration from the interiors of Copenhagen’s Palace Hotel (opened in 1910, Georg Jensen provided furnishings and silverware) while referencing Milanese café culture. On the menu was traditional affogato (coffee was sourced from local roastery Prolog), while an array of ice cream flavours were dreamed up by Copenhagen-based Italian chef Chiara Barla. Each was served on Georg Jensen silverware, from coupes to tub-shaped cups, as well as spoons taken from ‘The Artisans Series’. ‘You’ll find pieces you’d typically associate with ice cream, but instead of being disposable, they’re crafted in silver,’ said recently appointed creative director Paula Gerbase. ‘Not only creating durable objects, but elevating the fleeting moments we use them in.’

The Row’s first homeware offering

In signature understated style, The Row launched ‘Home’ at Salone. Comprising a collection of three handwoven throws and a quilted blanket, the Olsens’ first foray into luxury home design was presented elegantly draped over steel and bronze rails by Julian Schnabel in the frescoed rooms of what will shortly become the New York-based brand’s Milanese HQ. Created with artisans in Kashmir, India, each blanket takes between 600 hours to craft and employs a different weaving technique from which they take their name: the Classic, The Row Weave, and the Himalayan Weave, arriving in four colourways – mink, ivory, brown and black. Lightweight at less than 14.5 microns and discreetly embroidered with the brand’s initials, they stand to become one of the year’s most coveted IYKYK home improvements.

Prada Frames boards a restored Gio Ponti train

As the city’s most majestic portal, Milano Centrale station proved the perfect location for the fourth edition of Prada Frames, ‘In Transit’. The annual event curated by Formafantasma that invites panellists from all areas of design, including architecture, engineering and environmental planning, into thematic dialogue has become one of the most popular attractions at Design Week, taking place in iconic landmarks around the city. This year, attendees were invited into the station’s Padiglione Reale that once served as the waiting room for Italian royalty and heads of state before boarding the Arlecchino train designed by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s and recently restored by the Fondazione FS Italiane (out of the entire original fleet, this was the only one viable to be brought back to its former glory). Over the course of the week, discussions on digital, global, material and hacking infrastructures, along with interrogations of infrastructures of power, played out on board, seeking to examine ‘the impact of digital revolutions and global distribution networks on daily life’. Once again brilliantly introduced and contextualised by Alice Rawsthorn, several key takeaways included the necessity for infrastructure to collaborate rather than colonise, integrating ancestral knowledge to reframe industrial design, and the urgent need to re-evaluate industrial infrastructures to work in conjunction with the natural world rather than see them as separate entities.

READ: Aboard Gio Ponti's colourful Arlecchino train in Milan, a conversation about design with Formafantasma

Stone Island’s ‘sonic experience’

Stone Island invited visitors to its ‘sonic experience’ called ‘Friendly Pressure: Studio One’, staged in collaboration with Friendly Pressure, the London-based sound system studio founded by Shivas Howard Brown. A study of the textures of sound, the week-long programme of events took place in spaces that had bespoke hi-fidelity audio systems installed by Friendly Pressure in direct response to the precise dimensions of the space to rouse emotions akin to ‘the golden age of recorded music, treating sound as both a sensory and physical experience,’ the brand relayed. Studio One, where the events took place, was inspired by Carlo Scarpa, while inside soundproofing by Soundwave Jasmine and CC-Tapis rugs ensured the desired sound dispersion. Mirroring Stone Island’s sartorial approach to how materials respond to their environment, an allegorical experience emerged, parallelling reactions to touch and sound.

Louis Vuitton’s latest Objets Nomades series

Louis Vuitton revealed its 2025 home collection by staging a takeover of the neoclassical residence of Palazzo Serbelloni in the centre of Milan alongside its Objets Nomades series. Featuring designs from leading artists that the Paris fashion house has collaborated with over the years – including Patricia Urquiola, Jaime Hayon and Atelier Biagetti – it drew special attention to the work of futurist artist Fortunato Depero and Charlotte Perriand, whose textile work for the house was realised for the first time. Elsewhere, a special-edition trunk celebrating the house’s original design icon, the Malle Vaisselier, opened to reveal a service of refined porcelain and delicate glasses. It was the more whimsical items on display that drew the most attention: the Odyssée table football and a pinball machine inspired by the A/W 2025 fashion show by creative director Pharrell Williams were designed for Studio Louis Vuitton by Estúdio Campana and balanced the splendour with a cheeky wink.

Miu Miu’s ‘Literary Club’

The doors to The Miu Miu Literary Club opened once again during Salone, inviting guests into the Circolo Filologico Milanese that had been given a modernist Miu Miu makeover. Conceived under the direction of Miuccia Prada and curated by writer and researcher Olga Campofreda, the theme for this year was ‘A Woman’s Education’ and saw two days of panel discussions exploring the subjects of girlhood, love and sex education through the pages of Simone de Beauvoir’s 1954 coming-of-age novella ‘The Inseparables’ and Fumiko Enchi’s groundbreaking 1957 novel charting female desire, ‘The Waiting Years’. On day one, author Lou Stoppard moderated a panel discussion exploring ‘the power of girlhood’ in the context of De Beauvoir’s work with Lauren Elkin, Geetanjali Shree, and Veronica Raimo, and on day two Kai Isaiah Jamal delved into Enchi’s with through the lens of ‘love, sex, and desire’ with Nicola Dinan, Naoise Dolan, and Sarah Manguso, both championing the voices of female literary voices past, present and future.

Valextra’s ‘travelling sculpture’ with Zaven

Milanese leather goods brand Valextra is famed for sitting at the intersection of fashion and design with an archive dating back to 1937 that includes collaborations with AG Fronzoni and the first Compasso D’Oro award. For its Salone project this year, it continued its Vocabulario Project, inviting the Venice-based design studio Zaven to work with one of its most famous creations from the last century and recontextualise it through an idiosyncratic lens. The result is the ‘Costa 70 x Zaven’ suitcase, an identical re-creation of the Giovanni Fontana-designed luggage that dates back to the 1960s filled with a series of abstract resin objects that Zaven designed to be engineered into a build-it-yourself home sculpture. ‘Responsive and thought-provoking design has been at the core of Valextra’s DNA since 1937 and Zaven mirrors our own passion in realising objects of excellence in both a functional and meaningful way with this exceptional reinvention of an archival icon,’ says Valextra CEO Xavier Rougeaux.

READ: Valextra’s collaboration with Zaven is a ‘travelling sculpture’ with its own suitcase

Brioni bottles a rare fragrance with Lalique

If time is regarded as one of the greatest luxuries, then Brioni bottled it for Salone. A project four years in the making was unveiled at its Via Gesu flagship to mark Brioni’s 80th anniversary. Beloved for its exquisite attention to sartorial detail, the brand unveiled the Dualité Crystal Edition Perfume in collaboration with Lalique, an ode to artisanal craftsmanship and the art of olfactory. The glass bottle – of which only 18 are available – stands at nearly 40cm high and features an internal sculpture that was created using the cire-perdue method, the lost-wax technique first used by René Lalique in 1893 and passed down through generations of glassmakers. Inside, the Extrait de Parfum scent was created by master perfumer Michel Almairac over a seven-year-period and features notes of green apple, violet, Ambroxan, and rare iris butter. ‘This collaboration between our maisons became one of shared passion, representing everything we stand for: a dedication to time, the selection of precious raw materials, exquisite artisanry and the difference that human touch makes,’ says Brioni design director, Norbert Stumpfl.

Luca Faloni collaborates with Winetage

Luca Faloni partnered with Winetage, the fellow Italian brand that upcycles wine barrels into original design objects, to create a daybed upholstered in its exquisite brushed linen fabrics. Crafted from wood that still bears the red-wine stains and aromas from years of maturing the best Italian vintages, the daybed is furnished with padded tubes in fruity Bordeaux-red tones. Designed to spotlight the best of Made in Italy, the finished product combines fashion, wine, and design, providing the perfect resting spot to indulge in all three.

Missoni Home opens new Milan store

Missoni Home might be a mainstay in many a Milano dwelling, but it didn’t have its own spot in the city it calls home until this design week. Beside the brand’s Via Solferino showroom, the first dedicated Missoni Home boutique opened this week with its interior decor riffing on several of the brand’s most distinctive signatures, including degradé-painted pillars, zig-zag wallpaper, and its joyful rainbow colour palette, featuring a special curation of its expansive home offering.

Tod’s celebrates Made in Italy craft

As one of Italy’s most recognisable design icons, the Tod’s Gommino driving shoe holds a special place in the Made in Italy playbook. For Salone, the brand released a limited edition of the driving shoe (above) and unveiled a special coffee-table photography tome, ‘Italian Hands; Artisanal Stories From Italy’. A celebration of the processes and products that are exported all over the world, it features prominent Italian tastemakers alongside the artisans with whom they collaborate and promote – including master Murano glassblower Giberto Arrivabene, master of terracotta Rosario Spina, artisan of brass and bronze Ernesto Carati; and pesto connoisseur Christian Belforte. ‘This book is a tribute to those who, every day, with passion and commitment, contribute to keeping a fundamental part of our cultural identity alive,’ says Tod’s group president Diego Della Valle. ‘It is a recognition of those who know how to enhance craftsmanship, making it a symbol of authentic, timeless quality, even for new generations.’

Gucci’s Bamboo Encounters

Few materials are as synonymous with Gucci as bamboo. One of the fashion house’s defining motifs since it was first used on its iconic handbag in 1947, its legacy defines the innovation inherent to the Florentine brand. For Milan Design Week this year, the house invited seven artists to give their take on the material in their own mediums for its installation ‘Gucci Bamboo Encounters’. Curated by 2050+ founder Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli and staged in the cloisters of the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, works ranged from a sculpture by Swedish-Chilean artist Anton Alvarez and a collection of baskets featuring hand-blown glass accents by Palestinian architect, artist, and researcher Dima Srouji, to a jubilant collection of bamboo kites by the Dutch design collective Kite Club. They were joined by artists Nathalie Du Pasquier, Laurids Galleé, and Sisan Lee, each of whom explored the shapeshifting possibilities of this chameleonic material.

READ: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli on curating Gucci Bamboo Encounters at Fuorisalone: ‘We didn’t want to produce commodities’

‘La Prima Notte Di Quiete’ by Loro Piana and Dimoremilano

Loro Piana may have staged its design week event in the Cortile della Seta courtyard of its Milan headquarters, but there was nothing familiar about this space. Realised in collaboration with design duo Dimorestudio (founded by Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci), the usually light-flooded space had been transformed into a decadent 1970s film set meets affluent Milanese penthouse accessed via a cinema foyer draped in red theatre curtains. Invited through the curtains, visitors were presented with a fully furnished home, featuring furniture designed by Dimorestudio for Loro Piana Interiors alongside exquisite vintage pieces upholstered in Loro Piana’s luxurious home textiles and art from Tornabuoni Art, Cardi Gallery, and Galleria Gracis e Secci Gallery. Immersing visitors in the space for four-minute intervals was a soundtrack curated by music composer and multimedia artist Nicola Guiducci that ranged from excerpted dialogue on a rainy evening to a phone ringing and a piano playing that both heightened the cinematic experience.

Saint Laurent’s homage to Charlotte Perriand

When it comes to the design world, Yves is never far from Saint Laurent. For its design week installation, creative director Anthony Vaccarello looked to one of the design heroes of the French fashion house’s founder, Charlotte Perriand, commissioning four pieces of furniture she conceived between 1943 to 1967 that have only existed as sketches or prototypes until now. Comprising the rosewood and cane sofa designed for the Japanese ambassador’s Paris residence in 1967; the rose and cherrywood Mille-Feuilles table that she made a reduced-scale model of in 1963; the Indochina Guest Armchair she designed for her own home in 1943; and the Rio de Janeiro bookcase she designed in 1962 for her husband Jacques Martin’s apartment, the collection has been produced in full scale for the very first time for Milan Design Week. Standing in homage to the design talents of both Perriand and Saint Laurent, each piece in the collection will be available on an exclusive made-to-order basis following the showcase.

Versace’s celebration of the ‘Art of Living’

The Versace brand may be undergoing creative changes following the announcement last month that Donatella Versace would be stepping down as creative director, but its extravagant proposition for home design remains steadfast at its Milan Design Week presentation, The Versace Art of Living. Described as a ‘universe that brings a fantasy of poise, extravagance and heritage to life’, the star of the show this season was the reinvention of the ‘Harem’ chair, its steel frame made bountiful with the addition of thick padded satin cushions and, of course, a large gold Medusa head, alongside an update the of the 1994 wooden chair the ‘Vanitas’, upholstered in velvet. The house referenced Versace’s last fashion show at the event, stating that, like its ready-to-wear offering, ‘to embody Versace is to embrace a way of living at once proudly historied and decidedly modern, and to live it – to wear it, eat from it, sit on it, sleep in it – with uncompromising intention.’

Dolce & Gabbana’s ode to ‘love and hospitality’

The master of Southern Italian charm, Dolce & Gabbana, brought the verdant coastal landscapes of its founders’ native Sicily to the northern design capital for Salone with Verde Maiolica, a porcelain service in green and white. Celebrating the handmade craftsmanship of the region, its botanical design finds its roots in the Mediterranean shrub, while the collection – comprising tea and coffee sets alongside tableware, flatware and glassware – ‘represents and narrates the tale of love and hospitality’, relayed the brand at its Via Broggi cocktail presentation.

Fendi Casa’s collaboration with Lewis Kemmenoe

Fendi Casa continued its Design Miami collaboration with British designer Lewis Kemmenoe in Milan, seeing him take over the windows of its Via Manzoni flagship with his large-scale abstract panels. Acting as a metaphor for the savoir-faire behind the Rome-based brand’s furniture, they encapsulated the duality of the new interiors collection that is at once sumptuous and minimal. New to its line-up this year was ‘Cover’ sofa, designed to be ‘dressed up or down’ – a sartorial reference to reliable wardrobe staples; the ‘Twist’ chair by Stefano Gallizioli, a wood structure upholstered in leather with armrests resembling the swirls of a ribbon; and the modular ‘Later’ sofa, designed by Ceriani Szostak and inspired by the rationalist architecture of Fendi’s iconic Rome HQ that is famously both imposing and inviting.

Issey Miyake’s ‘Type-XIII Atelier Oï’ lighting

Issey Miyake invited guests to its Milan flagship to unveil ‘Type-XIII Atelier Oï’, the fruits of its collaborative project between the Swiss design studio Atelier Oï and A-POC Able Issey Miyake, which explores the seemingly limitless possibilities of its iconic ‘A Piece of Cloth’ concept. Unveiling lighting prototypes that use one piece of wire and a piece of cloth in several formations, the house presented two distinctive series. The first, the ‘O Series’, draws inspiration from the Japanese art of Ikebana, with five sculptural lights designed to take on the same decorative presence as flower arrangements that can be easily moved around the home with the recycled polyester ‘Steam Stretch’ material used in A-POC Able’s clothes-making process appearing to blossom in spontaneous directions. The second, the ‘A Series’, pays homage to Miyake’s iconic 1997 APOC show that saw a formation of models take to the runway connected by one continuous roll of fabric. Here, a pre-knitted roll stretches out to create a three-shade interconnected light installation that can be cut to size to suit the space it is destined to take pride of place in.

READ: A-POC Able Issey Miyake’s lighting collaboration with Atelier Oï is based on its philosophy of ‘a piece of cloth’

Hermès’ brilliant white box

In a departure from the darkened rooms of recent years, Hermès turned its La Pelota venue into a brilliant-white box. ‘To design an object, to make it, a box is needed,’ visitors were told before stepping into the stark space. Designed by Charlotte Macaux Perelman, architect and artistic director of Hermès collections for the home, the cavernous box-like room presented four polyhedron shapes descending from the ceiling and emitting a fluorescent glow beneath.‘Like a sculptor's marble block, [the box] contains the object, the idea we have of it, and the dream it inspires,’ the house continued. Each of these suspended structures featured this year’s ‘Objects For The Home’, including the ‘Contrepoint Dinner Service’ by Nigel Peake and Pivot D’Hermès side table by Tomás Alonso alongside the ‘Double D’Hermès’ jugs and ‘H Partition’ throws by Studio Hermes. Positioned both inside the cavities and on cutout shelves along their surface, the intersection between an object of function and admiration was brought to the fore.

READ: A bit of all white: Hermès unveils its latest home collections in Milan

Armani Casa’s ‘Oriental Inks’

After two years of delighting Milan Design Week-goers by throwing the doors open to his historic Palazzo Orsini home on Via Borgonuovo, Giorgio Armani opted to redirect attention back to the sprawling Armani Casa flagship on Corso Venezia to mark 25 years of Armani Casa and unveil its new homewares collection, ‘Oriental Inks’. Working in collaboration with De Gournay, iconic items of furniture in the permanent Armani collection were transformed with exquisite silk and beaded embroidery and gold-leaf appliqué depicting bamboo, dragons and jungle landscapes, chosen for being ‘auspicious symbols of strength, flexibility and endurance’ designed to transport their owners – and admirers – elsewhere. The ‘Amedeo’ bed, in particular, took over 200 hours to embroider its monkey-inhabiting canopy scene. ‘The display and the new pieces, authentic examples of the highest level of craftsmanship, are visible through the windows to anyone passing by,’ shared Mr Armani. ‘I quite like the idea of a surprise that captures attention, a suggestion that broadens horizons, now that horizons are often becoming narrower.’

Loewe’s artist-designed teapots

Former Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson may have left the building, but one of his proudest legacies lives on at design week. Marking its ninth craft exhibition during the city-wide showcase, the brand presented ‘Loewe Teapots’ featuring 25 different interpretations of the ubiquitous vessel by 25 international artists and the last curation from Anderson to be presented by the Spanish house. From the coral-like glaze application of South Korean artist Jane Yang-D'Haene’s pot to the surrealist two faces of Spanish ceramicist Laia Arqueros Claramunt’s design, the collection ranged in depiction from classic ceramic to convention-defying proportions, with each piece representing the intimate ceremony in which a teapot takes the lead.

READ: 25 artists reimagine the teapot at Milan Design Week 2025

Dior expands ‘Ode to Nature’ collection with Sam Baron

Dior Maison worked with French artist Sam Baron to expand its ‘Ode To Nature’ collection with three one-metre-high glass vases that were every bit as intricate as one of the French fashion house’s couture creations. Each depicting its own garden of intertwining branches, petals and foliage, the bodies of the hand-blown and hand-constructed vessels were inspired by the first Miss Dior amphora perfume bottle from 1947. Starting as a ribbed glass tube, each was gently blown and fired over several hours to create the distinctive shape before the exacting process of applying the delicate decorative details could begin. Designed to conjure the bouquets of flowers that founder Dior insisted on having in his salon, each of the three designs is available in a limited edition of eight – Monsieur Christian Dior’s lucky number.

Stay tuned for more of the best fashion moments at Milan Design Week 2025.

Ardent fans of the dynamic duo behind Dimorestudio and Dimoremilano, our antennae were set to high alert in the run-up to Salone del Mobile 2024 by the news that Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran were due to unveil a new brand. To say we weren’t disappointed is an understatement: Interni Venosta is one of the most beautiful, accomplished, perfectly pitched and fully realised furniture brands we’ve seen enter the fray in three decades of design discovery.

The dynamic duo behind Interni Venosta

The 22-piece collection has been dispatched in three drops, and to stand among the furniture and lighting is to be transported to a different world, one with shaggy rugs and velvet slippers, silk kaftans and turbans, martinis and cigars. Salci is renowned for his encyclopaedic knowledge and references within design; the genius here is that he has pared back cues from the 1930s, 1940s, 1970s and 1980s, and delivered a collection that is refreshing and relevant.

‘We first started discussing a collection three years ago that would be elegant but super easy to live with,’ says Moran. ‘It sounds clichéd to talk about timeless icons, but we were aiming for modern-day collectible pieces of extraordinary quality and beauty with a certain evocative tone.’

The pair worked with Daniele Fabbri, of Fabbri Services in Arezzo, to produce the collection, which is entirely made in Italy. Fabbri are the go-to team for architects, designers and brands for whom exceptional craft and quality are non-negotiable. With access to a black book of Tuscan workshops, and a highly talented, nimble workforce, Fabbri proved to be the perfect collaborators, bringing skill, art and soul to fabrication.

‘The collection is a celebration of materials and craft skills,’ says Moran. ‘We worked within a limited material palette – glass, stainless steel, wood, leather – and with simple forms, so there’s a boldness to the beauty, allowing pieces to be foreground or background, depending on the homes they sit in.’ The brand’s website has an opening tract that speaks of combining the essential rigour of Donald Judd, Carl Andre and Walter De Maria, with the progressive ideologies of Marcel Breuer and Gerrit Rietveld. Certainly a bold bunch of muses, but one that is softened by the spirit of Carla Venosta, after whom the brand is named.

Venosta is a woefully under-renowned Italian designer, whose work in the 1970s and 1980s helped define the crisp elegance and louche glamour that we widely associate with these decades. Alongside Gae Aulenti and Nanda Vigo, Venosta heralded a particular era of domestic design that responded to the shift in interior lifestyles of the period, flexing between decadent playfulness and solemn sobriety. Interni Venosta embodies these moods, and Moran points out that the collection’s title refers to the spirit, rather than any formal reinterpretation, of its namesake’s portfolio.

All that said, you don’t need to know the names or references to feel the force at play here. Craft and beauty can speak for themselves. When it came to deliberating the standout moments of the year within design for our awards issue, Interni Venosta was a unanimous favourite. Chin chin.  

internivenosta.com

Find all the Wallpaper* Design Award 2025 winners in the February 2025 issue of Wallpaper* , available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Milan’s new Trattoria del Ciumbia sees the Italian hospitality group Triple Sea Food continue its mission of enhancing the gastronomic offer in the city’s Brera district, following the opening of Vesta, a fine Mediterranean eatery, and Casa Fiori Chiari, a gourmet pizzeria.

Brera, often described as the SoHo of Milan, boasts a rich tapestry of artistic heritage, where cafés once buzzed with neorealist filmmakers and designers seeking inspiration. In a bid to reference this storied past, Trattoria del Ciumbia boasts interiors by Dimorestudio (also behind the recent redesign of Milan’s Caruso Nuovo Bistrot) that channel the spirit of the 1960s artistic avant-garde, with creatives such as Piero Manzoni and Nanda Vigo influencing its aesthetic.

Benvenuti alla Trattoria del Ciumbia

The design-led journey at Trattoria del Ciumbia begins with a wood-and-glass box accented with lace curtains that create a visual barrier between indoors and outdoors. Following up is an aperitif area, which adheres to Italian style with a pewter counter with brass-profiled vitrines, in which an installation of reassembled plates is showcased.

On the right side, a central balcony leading to the basement extends the view to the second room, a beautiful retro space decorated with walnut wood panelling and custom floor tiles arranged in mosaic patterns in various hues of nudes, reds, yellows and greens. Vintage newspaper racks, coat hooks, and a series of watercolours depicting Italian rationalist architecture from the 1930s interrupt the essentiality of the wall boiserie.

Meanwhile, a checkerboard of square opaline ceiling lights set into liver-red painted ceiling panels illuminates the room’s dining area, along with a series of ‘Pietro’ mirror wall sconces from Dimoremilano, the Milanese studio’s contemporary furniture brand. The private dining room is somewhat concealed, featuring original ‘Carimate’ chairs by Vico Magistretti and striking Flos ‘Splugen Bräu’ hanging lamps by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and Achille Castiglioni.

Downstairs, guests can seek refuge at the Disco Club, ideal for after-dinner drinks. A porthole in the steel-effect laminated panelled wall offers a glimpse of a perfectly stocked bar filled with wines and delicate cocktail ingredients, while a sound system provides music from the 1970s and the 1980s.

As for the menu, Trattoria del Ciumbia stays true to its Italian roots with a tempting selection of antipasti, primi piatti, and secondi piatti. From marinated sardines to Milanese-style risotto, each dish celebrates the region’s favourites. Indulgent desserts like Gelato al Fordilatte Mantecato fresco and Barbajada del Ciumbia round off the meal on a sweet note.

trattoriadelciumbia.com, dimorestudio.eu

Milan’s Caruso Nuovo Bistrot has reopened its doors after an interior refresh by Dimore Studio, marking the venue’s 20th anniversary.

Located in the vibrant Piazzetta Croce Rossa, opposite Via Montenapoleone, the bistrot is known for its culinary offerings curated by international Chef Gennaro Esposito. Its owners, the Bertazzoni family, sought to create a sophisticated yet convivial ambiance where classic aesthetics seamlessly intermingle with contemporary elements. In collaboration with Dimore Studio, the bistrot now stands as a testament to the fusion of past and present, echoing the culinary philosophy curated by executive chef Francesco Potenza, who hails from the Campania region.

Caruso Nuovo Bistrot in Grand Hotel et de Milan

Rooted in mutual respect and a shared cultural background, the collaboration between Caruso Nuovo and Gennaro Esposito mirrors the philosophy that you should never forget your origins. This sentiment extends beyond the kitchen and into the very essence of the bistro, where patrons can immerse themselves in an environment that cherishes Milan’s cultural roots.

The restoration was led by Dimore Studio, whose interior approach was informed by Milanese upper-class aesthetics. In collaboration with Grand Hotel et de Milan, the studio meticulously revived the space’s original features, including columns, inlay, and grit floors, while infusing a modern sophistication that reflects the building’s historical significance. 

Dimore Studio’s signature rich palettes and textures define the interiors, which include 20 green bamboo and fabric chandeliers from the studio’s archives and a Parallelo Glass Romantic console table by Dimore Milano in golden glass as a centrepiece to the dining room. The space is enriched by art deco patterns on the walls and upholstery, and enlivened by palm trees serving as dividers (and becoming a recurring motif on wallcoverings and brass lighting features). Off the dining room, the veranda blends historical architectural references from Portaluppi and Mongiardino, featuring rattan furniture and diamond patterns. 

Just like the interiors, the menu by Esposito and Potenza blends tradition and contemporary influences, with quintessential Italian ingredients. Among the highlights is a ‘Vegetable Tour’, a tasting journey aimed at celebrating seasonal vegetables, as well as local classics that range from cotoletta alla Milanese to risotto allo zafferano, a saffron risotto here enriched with citrus and fennel. ‘In my line of work, it is a mortal sin to forget your origins,’ reads a quote by the chef introducing the menu. ‘It’s a manifestation of arrogance that also closes the door to the opportunity of future discoveries.’

Caruso Nuovo Bistrot
Grand Hotel Et De Milan
Via Croce Rossa
20121 Milano

dimorestudio.eu
grandhoteletdemilan.it

Seventeen designers and artists have been invited to reinterpret Dior’s ‘Medallion’ chair for the French house’s most significant presence at Milan’s Salone del Mobile to date. A roster pulled together from China, Korea, Japan, Lebanon, South Africa, UK, Holland, Italy and France includes Sam Baron, Nacho Carbonell, Pierre Charpin, Dimore Studio, Martino Gamper, India Mahdavi, Nendo, Ma Yansong, Tokujin Yoshioka and Pierre Yovanovitch.

The Dior Maison collection, under the creative direction of Cordelia de Castellane focuses on tabletop and decorative items, yet in November 2020 it launched the ‘Bonne Aventure’ card table and chairs. At first it might seem out of character to find chairs at Dior, but back in 1947 when Christian Dior opened his couture house, he turned to Victor Grandpierre to decorate the salon.

That original design scheme included grey and white armchairs and the oval-backed ‘Medallion’ chair used to seat guests at his fashion shows, both in a 1940s vision of the neoclassical Louis XVI style that the couturier loved. The armchair was immortalised in the 1955 Diorama and the 1958 Miss Dior perfume campaigns by illustrator René Grau. It has subsequently has become almost as iconic to the house as the ‘Bar’ jacket or Cannage pattern.

Showing from 5 September 2021, in Palazzo Citterio in Milan’s Brera neighbourhood, 17 designers have put their personal spin on the oval-backed Dior ‘Medallion’ chair. Around 30 chairs are exhibited, some as pairs or sets.

Dior ‘Medallion’ chair: 17 new designs go on display at Salone del Mobile 2021

Pierre Charpin has reduced the Dior ‘Medallion’ chair to the absolute minimum, with just an outline (that said it’s a particularly bold outline) in black metal resin and finished with a mirrored seat, for the user to look ‘at oneself before being looked at’.

Sam Baron’s ‘Ensemble(s)’ is made up of four pared-back chairs assembled together in a deliberately haphazard way. 

Nendo’s ‘Chaise Medaillon 3.0’ is made of two sheets of tempered glass, with the back and legs formed from a curve held in place with a shelf-like seat and the signature oval back rendered as a void, in a very pleasing interpretation.

Seoul-based Seungjin Yang has applied his signature balloon technique to ‘upholster’ the seat and back of his otherwise pretty faithful render of the chair, made entirely in epoxy resin.

India Mahdavi proposes a chair design close to the original in Dior grey lacquered wood, bringing her passion for craft and sense of colour through hand-embroidery from Kashmir in Djerba wool; each chair in her set of five is slightly different, and the designer calls them ‘a united tribe despite their individuality’.

Beirut-based designer Khaled El Mays has deconstructed, reinterpreted and reinvented the original, by extending the back, incorporating a straw-backed mirror and adding leather fringed feet.

Pierre Yovanovitch’s his and hers pair, ‘Monsieur et Madame Dior’, are crafted in bronze and upholstered with embroidered canvas in Dior’s oblique logo pattern, first developed by Marc Bohan in 1967, made expressly by Vermont in its Paris ateliers.

INFORMATION

Dior ‘Medallion’ chair, on show at Palazzo Citterio, from 5 September 2021. Opening hours: Saturday to Thursday, 10am – 7pm; Friday, 10am – 4pm

dior.com

ADDRESS

Palazzo Citterio
Via Brera 12
Milan, Italy

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Step into Browns’ Grade II* listed Brook Street flagship in London’s Mayfair, and should you have the renowned retailer’s App downloaded on your phone, it will recognise that you’re standing in its newest four floor physical location. Through a combination of bricks-and-mortar and digital technology, shoppers in the space will not only be able to browse clothing merchandised according to trend on its gleaming rails, but they’ll be able to observe what items on their personal Wish List are available in store IRL, scan QR codes to view infinite shopping shelves, and even access their Recently Viewed items through virtual mirrors on the top floor private shopping suites. Should shoppers wish to make a purchase, there's no faffing at tills. They can even complete their purchase from home, have their bags delivered at a later date, and even plan out the rest of their day through the assistance of an in-store concierge.

Welcome to the world of retail in 2021

Experiential, immersive, holistic, and where the physical and the digital combine. ‘You need storytelling and technology to exist in a retail landscape today,’ says Browns Chair Holli Rogers of the intention behind the store. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, physical retail profits have plummeted. According to Bain, online luxury market sales made up €40 billion in 2020, up from 2019's €33 billion. Online purchasing nearly doubled from 12 percent in 2019 to 23 percent in 2020. ‘We need to give people reasons to be in the space apart from just shopping,’ Rogers adds.

And reasons there are aplenty. Browns Brook Street is a stones' throw from the retailer's original South Molton Street location, which was opened by Joan and Sidney Burstein over a half century ago, and launched the careers of designers including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. In addition to rooms dedicated to fine jewellery and watches, shoes, sneakers and emerging men's and women's fashion talent like Parisian eco-aware designer Marine Serre, the space also boasts a sustainably-led restaurant Native, designed by Shoreditch-based Red Deer Architects, a sun-filled courtyard (ideal for outdoor dining), a parlour for wellness and beauty treatments, and an ‘Immersive’ room, that features rotating unusual experiences.

Rogers adds that the concept of the store encapsulates ‘an understanding of the past and the future’, a vision also reflected in the interior architecture of the space. 39 Brook Street was built in 1720 and the space housed interior decoration company Colefax and Fowler, and the private residence of its owner Nancy Lancaster. Original design elements are celebrated and juxtaposed against mid-century modern pieces, in an interior concept by Wallpaper* Design Award winners Dimore Studio.

Period Flemish paintings and murals sit alongside clean modular fixtures in steel and iron, inspired by Donald Judd, Carl Andre and Fausto Melotti. Custom hand-painted floral wallpaper nods to original Victorian motifs, and plays off minimalist furniture and lighting by Eileen Gray, Arflex and Gino Sarfatti. Metallic walls plus jewel tone carpets evoke the century-old grandeur of the space, which is united by its original central staircase, completed by a geometric Dimore Studio-designed light installation.

‘It's an elegant, cultured and dynamic space,' says Dimore Studio's Emiliano Salci. ‘We have used free standing structures able to adapt to a more dynamic and evolving shopping experience'. In Browns' Brook Street The Yellow Room, located on its womenswear floor, original interior details have been left untouched, and the tones of the walls reflect the existing 1950s colour of the space. The modular interior not only houses clothing by brands including Jil Sander, Loewe and Simone Rocha, it can be transformed into a ball room or party space, for hosting intimate dinners and events.

Changing the game

The holistic success of the space also incorporates digital strides that Browns has taken in the past 12 months. In a way to enhance the e-commerce shopping experience, the retailer has launched AR trying on technology allowing customers to virtually try on watches and trainers. The technology launched in collaboration with Farfetch, the e-commerce disruptor which bought Browns in 2015. ‘Trends in gaming have really tapped into how people are shopping on their phones,' Rogers says. ‘AR is a new way to engage with our customers.'

‘Customers are saying "give me something that wows me"', Rogers adds of consumer expectations of physical retail today. Browns Brook Street certainly makes a long-lasting impression.

INFORMATION
brownsfashion.com

ADDRESS

39 Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4JE

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Wallpaper* Design Award winners Dimore Studio’s brief to create a modern space for a traditional watch business was arguably complex: to create a space both elegant and welcoming, comfortable but sumptuous.

‘Watch Club founder Danny Pizzigoni tasked us with creating a space using our atmospheric approach,’ say Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci of Dimore Studio, the Italian designers at the helm. Their characteristic mix of jewelled tones with subtle hues and luxurious detail – Giò Ponti armchairs here, a Venini chandelier there – adds warmth to the five-room space in the Royal Arcade in Mayfair’s Albermarle Street.

A suitably lush colour palette of duck-egg blue, mustard yellow, muted burgundy and moss green tops off the overall desired effect: ‘We wanted to deliver a domestic space as opposed to a work one,’ they confirm.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Watch Club website

ADDRESS

49 Albermarle Street, London

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Even within the confines of its largest art fair, Milan can’t let go of its devotion to design. Miart was a three-day long art fair (13-15 April) that whet the city’s appetite for champagne toasts and rapid-fire vernissages before Salone del Mobile’s big guns rolled into town in the following days. Though the vast majority of booths focus on fine art, a small, smartly chosen selection of design galleries made a fine showing in the ‘Object’ section, which was curated by London-based journalist Hugo Macdonald.

The Object section was devoted to galleries active in the promotion of experimental design, decorative arts, limited editions and collectable design. It consisted of 12 galleries, an even mix of young and established, Milanese, Italian and European. ‘This year we have encouraged galleries to focus their shows on one or two or a small handful of exhibitors, to give space to properly tell stories,’ Macdonald describes of Object 2019, his second time at the helm of the section. ‘I think it makes for a confident narrative. You understand why works are important and can appreciate their value beyond their aesthetic quality or status symbol.’

The approach indeed proved fruitful. Highlights included ceramics gallery Officine Saffi’s solo exhibition of the work of Milanese designer Elisa Ossino. On display was a series of monolithic objects made by hand from clay and sand and coloured a dusty shade of rose pink, a mix of the sort of monumental forms and careful scenography Ossino has become known for in recent years.

Northern Italian furniture producer Eredi Marelli showed off its Paolo Buffa archive in the form of the mid-century Italian designer’s original walnut and velvet seating, exhibited alongside his hand-drawn technical sheets and rare books dedicated to his work. While Modena-based gallery Antonio Verolino brought with them a solo show on Cesare Leonardi, described by Macdonald as, ‘a timely reappraisal of a fascinating body of work by a gifted and multi-dextrous designer.’

Not all galleries took such singular routes. Milan’s Luisa delle Piane showed a fresh assortment of midcentury and contemporary pieces, mixing furniture by Franco Albini and Franca Helg with embroidered lighting by Instituto Campana and an installation of crudely rendered clay masks by artist Giovanni De Francesco.

Another local, Dimoregallery, brought a melange of work from the 1960s through to the 1980s on a stripped back set of carpeted white risers, a toned down departure from their usual theatrical setups. Finally, Copenhagen’s Galleri Feldt took a slightly different approach, creating a ‘conversation between important Danish design icons and exquisite craft studies from their ongoing collaboration with Vitamin Creative Space in China,’ says Macdonald.

‘My aim has been to focus on galleries that are actively engaged in bringing the cultural context to life around the designs they show and sell,’ Macdonald explains of his curatorial mission for this year’s selection. ‘Collectible design is about more than investment. The stories around the people and pieces are vital for understanding their value.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Miart website

Stepping into Dimore Gallery always promises a sensorial escape and one of the unmissable highlights of Fuorisalone, as the queues snaking up the stairs of Dimore Gallery in Milan’s Brera design district attest. But for 2018 the duo – Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci – have excelled themselves, creating three separate installations with their neighbouring Studio also open to the public and the takeover of an additional ground floor shop at Via Solferini, 22.

‘The idea was to separate both realities of the Gallery and the Studio,’ explained Moran over a glass of chilled water, surrounded by a collection of bright tubular Sixties furniture by Italian architect Gae Aulenti on the Gallery terrace. ‘For ‘Transfer’ we created five different worlds though a series of tents created from fabric which we’ve produced with de La Cuona. Each tent houses pieces from our historical collections combined with intimate objects and some of our personal things.’ In addition to this there are two simple display rooms with the best of their archive pieces.

The concept has echoes of Dimore’s (Un)Comfort Zone at London’s Mazzoleni gallery, for which the pair staged a series of enclosed rooms viewed via window-like apertures. Here the tents occupy the centre of rooms with visitors navigating a darkly lit perimeter to peer in at the carefully staged compositions through ‘windows’. ‘Each room has its own atmosphere and world, says Moran, ‘so there’s the Silk Road traveller, the Séance room, the Italian camping scene, the French Riviera beach scene and the finale we’re calling the Arab harem.’

Every space also has its own distinctive scent and soundtrack, the latter compiled by Salci who Moran points out is ‘very good at doing everything’. In response to constant requests about their compelling soundtracks, Dimore have documented this alongside descriptions of the pieces on display. So for example viewers of the Lido Alvaro tent, which features Finnish, Swedish and Italian pieces by Alvar Aalto, Pietro Chiesa and Achille Castiglioni, are serenaded by two 1962 tracks: Lolita Ya Ya from the film by Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra and Francoise Hardy’s Le temps de l’amour. Meanwhile, the dark tones of Vincent Price’s Witchcraft Magic set a macabre mood to the ‘voodoo séance’ tent.

Their nearby studio Perfettamente Imperfetto installation presents the contemporary collection. ‘We pared everything back with just one object per room to be very exhibition and museum-like.’ It’s still very Dimore. A grey foam-lined corridor complete with a chintzy carpet leads to rooms lined with billowing white parachute silk. ‘The idea was to put everyone into a cocoon-like incubator space, where everything else is drowned out, which is very nice given the hustle and bustle of the week,’ he adds.

A crane was commandeered to lift in the first exhibit, a large antique display case which showcases smaller objects surrounded by an abundance of silk flowers. Again the soundtrack plays a part, building in each room until it reaches a crescendo for the Arachnid-inspired floor lamps, a homage to Louise Bourgeoise, ‘because we always like to dip into art and fashion for our collections,’ says Moran.

‘Limited Editions’ occupies a nearby vacant shop, described by Moran as ‘a top secret project by Emiliano’ it consists of new works created from deconstructed 18th- and 19th-century vintage pieces. ‘The wood is really incredible in these antique pieces but the furniture itself is a little too cumbersome. So this year he decided to reassemble them into new designs where you have the beauty of the wood patina, but in a contemporary way.’

Presented in a misty atmosphere (an effective last minute addition), the information on the collection flickers in green digital text on a stack of vintage televisions and yet again, the soundtrack – Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting Falling, (the Twin Peaks theme tune) – sets an enigmatic, filmic mood. Which is surely the next step for the duo? ‘We’d love to do set designs for films, our gallery is already like that, but they’re not knocking on our door yet,’ says Moran.

Until Hollywood wakes up to their talents then it’s business as usual with a 3,200 square metre members club in Dubai next on their agenda.

INFORMATION

Transfer, Dimore Gallery and Perfettamente Imperfetto, Dimore Studio, Via Solferini 11 and Limited Edition at Via Solferini 22 are open from 17th-21st April, 11am-8pm. For more information visit the Dimore website

Velvet and mohair-lined walls, plush amber carpets and shimmering surfaces create a distinctly retro mood in Fendi’s newly refurbished Sloane Street outpost by Dimore Studio. Run by Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran, Dimore Studio first collaborated with the Roman fashion house in 2014, launching a collection of design pieces for Fendi at Design Miami.

This quickly led to the Milan-based studio crafting the much-acclaimed Fendi apartment, which was installed above the label’s Rome Palazzo in 2016. ‘It’s the freedom Fendi allows us,’ enthuses Moran, explaining why the relationship works. ‘It’s the knowledge of sharing the same idea of luxury; we both demand excellence in craftsmanship and attention to detail.’

This year, the love affair continues as Dimore Studio unveils its first boutique for the brand, which is unsurprisingly the Italian fashion house’s most opulent to date. More like a salon than a store, Dimore’s inaugural Fendi outpost builds upon the late 1960s and 70s aesthetic that the studio perfected at the Fendi apartment in Rome, but this time with a dash of tropical colonialism added in.

‘Our vision for the space was to create a chic and luxurious Roman aristocratic apartment injected with a sophisticated contemporaneity,’ says Moran. ‘There are elements inspired by the late 60s and 70s and the designs of Paul Evans, Pierre Paulin and Gae Aulenti.’

Spread across two floors, the apartment-like store features rounded edges, soft textures and warm colours. Smooth textile-covered walls abound, floors are edged with onyx marble – a nod to exotic travel – while ceilings are made from light pink Plexiglass prisms or oxidised alpaca. Downstairs, women’s accessories and bags are displayed on thick, brass and plexiglass shelves and back-lit with parchment. Upstairs, ready-to-wear and fur pieces hang on the walls, backlit by a window with luxurious silk-fringed curtains.

The two floors are connected by a show-stopping staircase featuring double height mohair and velvet walls and a bannister lined with wedge-shaped panels made from various metals that echo the geometric rugs that are used throughout the ground floor. Upstairs, the floor is divided into two, with men’s and women’s collections displayed within a series of rooms split by a corridor – one side finished in powder pink plaster and the other in black wood paneling.

To perfect the homely atmosphere, Dimore Studio has paired vintage furniture with collectible contemporary design and art pieces. For instance, Chinese bamboo armchairs from the 1800s sit alongside an ‘Artona’ series dining table by Afra and Tobia Scarpa. An intimate VIP room on the first floor, featuring a made to order bag and fur service as well as private changing rooms, is the outpost’s crowing glory. Here, hidden behind a set of Vienna straw screens, visitors are enveloped in a warm golden glow created by skilfully layered patterns and shimmering textures.

‘It is truly distinctive, sophisticated and with a whispered luxury and intimate feel,’ praised Fendi CEO Pietro Beccari. ‘Dimore Studio has perfectly translated our codes into an ideal Fendi apartment in London.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Fendi website and the Dimore Studio website

ADDRESS

Fendi
181-182 Sloane Street
London SW1X 9QP

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Savvy impresarios have long realised that few things lift the mood more than the prospect of an evening of bubbles, supper, music and dancing. All the more reason to applaud the arrival of Leo’s at London’s The Arts Club.  Over the years, the hallowed institution has unfurled various new services and facilities, the better to lure a new generation of members, but we wager it will be some time before anything will top its new supperclub and nightclub. 

The Milan-based designers Dimore Studio have orchestrated a fantasist lair – apparently inspired by the Riviera clubs of the 60s – swatched with greens, purples, pinks and reds; finished with brass, brushed steel, leather, Guatemalan marble, pink velvets and floral prints; and styled throughout with a Orient-lite touch by way of Wong Kar Wai’s Shanghai noir classic In the Mood for Love.

The bar, in particular, is a bona fide set-piece. The counter, manned by mixologist Raffaele Marino, practically blazes with spot-lit harlequin triangles. This leads onto the nightclub, whose parquet floor is set off by a shimmering curtain of bamboo beads hand-painted with white and pink lotus flowers, black-lacquered Knoll Saarinen chairs and, curling sinuously along the wall is a set of capacious brass-trimmed booths lit by lantern lamps.

For revellers recovering between sets on the dance-floor and big-band numbers on-stage, chef Jean-Luc Mongodin sends out Italian-influenced plates, alongside the obligatory round of oysters and caviar. Consider our mood duly lifted.

INFORMATION

Website

ADDRESS

The Arts Club
40 Dover Street

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

For those missing the melee of patterns and colours that are synonymous with Milan Fashion Week, never fear. A pop-up space envisioned by fashion brand La Double J (founded by our very own Italy editor-at-large JJ Martin) and interior design firm Dimore Studio is just the ticket.

The Teatro Bazaar brings a cacophony of print and colour to Galleria Manzoni, a historic shopping centre built in 1947. Building on the forties aesthetic, the collaborators have conjured a mysterious, low-lit space peppered with Dimore Studio’s decorative objects – such as marble, bamboo, ceramic and steel trays, ashtrays, and vases – which are displayed on pastel and glittery pedestals. A highway-like system of brass display rails showcases Edition 10, La Double J’s latest collection of vintage Mantero Seta prints, swathed across nylon windbreakers, shirt-dresses and velvet dresses.

Just like La Double J’s peacock print or retro floral velvet dresses, Teatro Bazaar envelops you within its furnishings. Walls and windows are decked out in ‘Brown Click’, a graphic vintage pattern selected by Dimore Studio, while the floors are carpeted in rich pastel tones. Also available to purchase are a selection of glittering vintage costume jewellery, an Aesop home spray with a Dimore Studio-designed pouch, and La Double J Housewives’ selection of bright, patterned homeware. Whatever the occasion, you’ll always have a morsel of Milan to take home with you.

INFORMATION

Teatro Bazaar is open until 30 September. For more information, visit the La DoubleJ website and the Dimore Studio website

In the dining room, 1950s wall lights, by Stilnovo; bar cabinet, by Osvaldo Borsani; ‘Locus Solus’ armchairs, by Gae Aulenti, for Poltronova; table, by Ignazio Gardella; and ‘109’ pendant from the Progetto Non Finito collection, by Dimore Studio. Artworks are Nero, 1964; Grigio, 1988, both by Agostino Bonalumi; and Due Ovali Metallizzati, 2006, by Turi Simeti

Anyone wanting a quick peek at Dimore Gallery’s contribution to this year’s London Design Festival should head to Mayfair’s Mazzoleni Gallery. The Milan-based design all-rounders have transformed the space into a five-room apartment, where modern art sits alongside vintage and contemporary furniture. But a peek is all you’ll get. Visible only through a porthole, each room is no more than a mise en scène – you can look but you can’t touch.

The show, conceived by Dimore Gallery (which has shared its preparatory collages exclusively with Wallpaper*), is the first in a series of collaborations entitled ‘Mazzoleni Invites’. ‘We want to work with people from fashion, design, architecture – those who are outside fine art but influenced by it,’ explains Mazzoleni’s managing director Mira Dimitrova, who is set on bringing ‘a different viewpoint and audience to the gallery’.

In the dressing room, ‘Lampada 114’ and ‘Armadio 098’, both from the Progetto Non Finito collection, by Dimore Studio; pair of ‘Mod. 1943’ wall lamps, by Max Ingrand, for FontanaArte; and armchair and dressing table, both by Paolo Buffa. Artwork is Base Quadrata, Modulo 3, Taglio Semplice Pluridirezionale, 1969, by Paolo Scheggi

Dimore was the obvious first partner. Mazzoleni has collaborated with its founders, Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, on several occasions. It loaned the duo art for an exhibition at this year’s Salone del Mobile, and in 2016 collaborated on a private apartment in Rome for Fendi (see W*204). Mazzoleni provided Fendi with art, while Dimore took care of the interior. ‘Mazzoleni let us pick and choose from its archive,’ recalls Moran. ‘That was a fun shopping trip!’

For the London show, Dimore has again had the chance to rifle through Mazzoleni’s treasures. ‘We were given carte blanche,’ says Moran. ‘Initially we wanted to create something borderline kitsch. Instead it has turned out to be rather elegant,’ he explains. ‘We try to venture off, but the colours and materials always end up feeling Italian in everything we do.’

Dimore’s style, of which Mazzoleni shows a fleeting glimpse, is taking permanent hold elsewhere in Mayfair. This October sees its first showing at PAD, as well as the unveiling of its new jazz club in the The Arts Club’s basement. Next year, a showroom for a watchmaking client opens in the Royal Arcade. Its time in London has come.

As originally featured in the October 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*223) – on newsstands 15 September

In the bedroom, ‘Cityscape’ screens, by Paul Evans, for Directional; ‘Model 1842’ floor lamps, by Josef Frank, for Svenskt Tenn; 1940s wall-mounted consoles; 1950s Salottino armchairs; ‘Trilobo’ wall lights, by Venini; 1950s cherry wood bed; and ‘Palm’ carpet, from the Progetto Palmador collection, by Dimore Studio. Artworks are Rilievo O Elementi Curvi, 1967-1972, by Getulio Alviani; and Bianco E Nero, 1968, by Agostino Bonalumi

The living room features a chaise longue by Marcel Breuer; pendants by Gino Sarfatti and Archimede Seguso for Arteluce; ‘Cityscape’ low table, by Paul Evans for Directional; ‘Fungo’ lamps, by Gabriella Crespi; ’Confidential’ sofa, by Alberto Rosselli, for Saporiti; floor lamp, by Gofferdo Reggani; and ‘102’ sofa, from the Progetto Non Finito collection, by Dimore Studio. Artworks are Mernoek, 1989, by Victor Vasarely; Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1962, by Lucio Fontana; Giallo 1969, by Agostino Bonalumi; and Concetto Spaziale, 1968, by Lucio Fontana

In the bathroom, ‘Mod. T - 792/MF’ ceiling lamp, by Hans Agne Jakobsson; ‘Mini Arco’ console, by BBPR studio, E Peressutti, L Barbiano di Belgiojoso and E N Rogers for Olivetti Synthesis; ‘Mod. P600’ table lamp, by Gino Sarfatti; ‘Bouquet’ wall lamp, by Hans Kögl; and toilet set, by Gio Ponti in collaboration with G Labalme, G Pozzi, A Rosselli for Ideal Standard. Artworks are Concetto Spaziale, 1961, by Lucio Fontana; Smettere in Moto, 1978-1979, by Alighiero Boetti; Concetto Spaziale, 1965, by Lucio Fontana; Superficie Blu, 2004, by Enrico Castellani; Superficie a Testura Vibratile, 1962, by Getulio Alviani; Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1959, by Lucio Fontana

INFORMATION

‘Mazzoleni Invites: Dimore Gallery/(Un)Comfort Zone’ is on view until 24 September. For more information, visit the Mazzoleni Gallery website and the Dimore Studio website

ADDRESS

Mazzoleni Gallery
27 Albemarle Street
London W1S 4HZ

View Google Maps

Historical allusion and handmade materials aren’t exactly distinct or rare processes in many design practices. And yet, Dimore Studio seems to have the reputation of 'doing something different', as both industry insiders and lifestyle conglomerates – from Hermès and Bottega Veneta to Ian Schrager Company – all agree. 'We wanted to do something different because it didn’t make sense to compete with the big names. If everybody had been using white, we would have been using green or purple,' says Britt Moran, one half the duo behind the Milan-based interiors firm, which opened in 2003 and has since become a cult studio for its ultra-luxe bricolage of design’s past top notes. A little bit of Stilnovo, a dash of 19th century marquetry, a pinch of Italian renaissance – but as Moran says, 'we just source tons of antiques together and mix them with contemporary design'.

Moran and Emiliano Salci, his platonic intellectual paramour and studio partner of 15-years-plus, haven’t ventured much into the commercial gallery world. Their interiors are best found in-situ – such as the Pump Room in Chicago, Ceresio 7 above the DSquared2 boutique in Milan, or even their 18th century Porta Nuova palazzo workspace-cum-design showroom. Despite selling Gio Ponti chairs and Hans Agne Jakobsson chandeliers to clients and antiques aficionados, their own work has never been been available for public consumption. Until now.

And where better to start but The Future Perfect, which has the world’s first public offering, so to speak, of Dimore’s designs. The collection includes the solar system chandelier 'Lampada 061', a slew of shaggy rugs and intricately fabricated sofas that 'everybody thinks look painted', says The Future Perfect’s indefatigable David Alhadeff, whose design sense is almost Svengali-like.

'We have known each other for four or five years, [but] at the beginning we were not ready. It was not a real collection, so this year when he came, he said "We have to do something". We had matured, so I said "Let’s try it!",' explains Moran of the move. 'The courtship was very nice so I’m sure the marriage will be too.' Thus, Alhadeff and Dimore joined forces to present a 'best of' collection.

Also involved in the collaboration was Brooklyn's Yolande Batteau of Callidus Guild, who provided a host of hand-painted wallpapers, and mirrors, a hand-painted threshold and paintings (all in 24K gold). 'There were more connections between our work than both David and I initially thought,' Batteau explains. 'This show is about elevating the design, and I just don’t see this in galleries. There’s so much life in here.'

INFORMATION

For more information, visit The Future Perfect website

Trust Dimore Studio's Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran to take the simple catalogue and transform it into a veritable work of art. Eschewing the simply printed, the easy to post or the heavy on information (and light on inspiration) commonly employed by other furniture or textile brands, the Italian duo have applied their spellbinding approach to create Progetto Non Finito: A catalogue raisonné of unique pieces designed by Dimore Studio.

The exquisite tome reads more like an anthology than a catalogue, gathering the studio's many projects throughout the years (from storage units to seating options, tables, lamps, rugs and more), all captured by photographer Andrea Ferrari in the characteristic Dimore way; part haunted elegance, part decadent antique, wholly modern and refined.

A foreword by Paola Moretti introduces the contents, explaining the roots and essence of Progetto Non Finito: 'Sculptures that become living objects, inspired by modern art and references from the past, single pieces suitable to juxtapose alongside empty spaces with a sense of history.'

Four chapters follow. 'The Silent House' is peppered with quotes from Giò Ponti, Le Corbusier and Amélie Nothomb; 'Pregotto Tessuti' summarises the textile works created to celebrate the studio's 10th anniversary; 'Progetto Palmador' gathers its prolific furniture designs; and a product index, which is made captivating by using white type on black paper, employs simple sketches to show dimensions.

Beyond serving as an archive of its previous work, the compilation goes some way into unravelling Dimore's ideology. 'A modern piece of furniture can fit in well in a historical palace and face a piece of art. It is not a simple matter of matching old and new, but visualising the space in its entirety,' the designers offer up humbly – as if it were quite that simple.

Like the furniture and interiors they create, every last detail has been carefully considered. The cover, for example, is understated yet polished; a heavy, pale grey mount board adorned with three debossed geometric shapes in a medley of foils (metallic gold and silver, and a matte black).

Playful inserts of different sizes and alignment create divisions within the book itself. In 'The Silent House', for example, the smaller sheets present totemic quotes from designers who have inspired and influenced the Milanese duo, while in 'Pregotto Tessuti' the inserts create a page-turning game of contrasting patterns, die-cut shapes providing windows into other designs. Different paper types – including Artic Paper Munken Lynx, Fedrigoni Sirio Ultra Black and GMund Cotton New Grey – add pace and tactility, two principles that are key to the duo's work. As they so succinctly put it: 'What is the point of surfaces that don't thrill your fingers?'

INFORMATION

Photography: Michael Ainscough

For the third year, Design Miami/ Basel presented the large-scale projects of Design at Large, welcoming visitors to the South Hall of Messe Basel. 

Eschewing a traditional booth, the Design at Large initiative invites gallerists to take part in a curated project that explores different points of view on design. This year, publishing heiress Martina Mondadori took the helm of the project, focusing on the theme of nature and outdoor living, explored via an eclectic mix of structures and installations. 


Mondadori chose the theme of ‘Landscape’, she says, to ‘invite designers and galleries to confront themselves with the outdoors and re-imagine the space within gardens’. Mondadori cites inspirations such as 19th century British follies and Italian garden labyrinths as the starting points for her theme. The reactions from the nine participants were eclectic and diverse, proving that such a remit can excite and inspire creative ideas. 

Installed like a canopy at the very entrance to the fair were Tom Price’s 'PP Trees' (created in collaboration with Victor Hunt gallery), an eerie forest made of polypropylene pile that invites visitors to question attitudes towards plastic and nature. 

Inside the space, Galerie Patrick Seguin participated with the 1956 'School of Villejuif' by Jean Prouvé, a temporary emergency structure for the Parisian suburb which in true Prouvé fashion could be installed and dismantled in a short time. The prefab acted as an anchor in the large venue, with further installations dotted around it in the cavernous hall. These included Kengo Kuma’s 'Owan' pavilion, part of Galerie Philippe Gravier’s 'Small Nomad House Project', an initiative dedicated to the marriage of art and architecture. Nearby, Dimore Studio’s 'Verande' took a completely different approach; presented like an outdoors and indoors space at once, the tent was furnished with Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci’s outdoors collection hidden in a deep forest of palm trees and enlivened by blue curtains and a soft breeze produced by the ceiling fans. 

Nearby, two installations were presented in close conversation with each other: Masatoshi Izumi and Koichi Hara’s 'Stone Tea House Meditative Alcove' and Enea Landscape Architecture’s bamboo composition offered a corner of tranquil serenity. 

On the other side of the show, Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk’s 'Civilised Primitives', developed with Nilufar, was a collection of handcrafted objects in bronze that invited viewers to ponder about survival in the present world. The collection was displayed under a large Bedouin-style tent featuring an abstract watercolor motif by the designer, in collaboration with print specialist Exposize. 

Ron Arad’s 'Armadillo Tea Canopy', presented by Robbie Antonio’s Revolution Pre-Crafted Properties, is an independent shell structure for indoor or outdoor use, a multifunctional piece which can offer shelter as well as serve as a meditation space. The modular canopy is composed of five individual shells fixed together with exposed brackets and fixings, with the possibility of extending it by adding further elements. 

Visitors to the fair took full advantage of Alexandra Kehayoglou’s 'No Longer Creek' installation, created in collaboration with Artsy. The Argentine rug maker reimagined the now transfigured Raggio creek, north of Buenos Aires, and through her work brought back to life its vegetation. People could walk and rest on the large tapestry, immerse themselves in its landscape and interact with the piece – it is in fact a Design at Large tradition that visitors often have the chance to get up close and personal with the structures and installations on show, offering a more intimate experience with design and expanding its boundaries beyond the gallery walls. 

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Design Miami/Basel website

Dimore Studio, the Milanese interior designers led by Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, are much in demand with fashion’s finest. Their ability to harmoniously fuse the past and present into one timeless package has seen them create interiors for everyone from Hermès to Maison Kitsune. Joining their client list this month is Lagrange12, a new luxury multi-brand boutique housed in a 17th century Palazzi in the centre of Turin.

Spread over two floors with grand high ceilings and generously proportioned rooms, the 800 sq m space layers Art Deco-inspired materials with classic furniture from the 1940s and 1950s. 'We wanted to underline the important proportions of the space while creating a welcoming and elegant environment,' explain the designers. 'We were inspired by the language of Italian design from the 1930s and 1940s, reinterpreted in a modern way.'

Floor-to-ceiling brass-edged Alcantara panels line the walls, while the floor is divided up into angular sections of carpet, grey polished cement, black resin and black granite that define the store’s layout. Overhead, a series of large abstract ceiling ‘chandeliers’ layer geometric shapes that reference the building’s grandiose architecture.

Snaking across the shop floor is a maze of custom made display rails made from black-painted iron and stainless steel that display creations from every major fashion house under the sun. These sculptural beasts, the designers say, were inspired by the works of American artist Oscar Tuazon, and as well as Louise Bourgeois’ monumental ‘spiders’. In order to showcase smaller items and accessories the Milanese duo commissioned a series bronze clad trunk containers – another reference to the 1920s and 1930s – which are opened up around the store to reveal silk-lined interiors equipped with shelves and small hanger rails. 

In contrast to the darkly atmospheric main spaces, a brighter mood prevails in the store’s corridors where Ming green marble lines the floors and ceilings, and walls are painted in a glossy yellow. Here a brushed steel staircase connects the ground and first levels illuminated by lamps that were custom designed for the space.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Lagrange12 website

ADDRESS

Via Lagrange 12
10123 Torino, Italy

VIEW GOOGLE MAP

Our new favourite apartment in Rome doesn’t belong to the kind of pedigreed aristocrat that typically holds the keys to high-end real estate in this ancient city. Instead, it belongs to Fendi. 

Designed by Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran, of Dimore Studio, the apartment unfolds on the second floor of Palazzo Fendi, a 17th-century pile located on Largo Carlo Goldoni in the heart of Rome, just down the street from the Spanish Steps. Previously a ho-hum Fendi store and anonymous office space, it has been ambitiously reconceived and refurbished as a five-storey cultural, retail, hospitality and entertaining complex for the brand and its clients. 

Following the opening of Fendi’s new headquarters in the refurbished fascist-era Palazzo della Civiltà in Rome’s outer EUR district, Palazzo Fendi now houses a two-floor store designed by Gwenaël Nicolas and a seven-suite hotel, Fendi Private Suites, while the top two floors will soon welcome an incarnation of Rainer Becker’s contemporary Japanese restaurant Zuma, as well as a rooftop bar. 

‘Each maison at LVMH has a store which is much more than the store,’ says Fendi CEO Pietro Beccari, who has overseen the brand’s recent empire building in Rome. ‘It’s the living incarnation of the brand. Dior has Avenue Montaigne, Louis Vuitton has the Champs-Élysées, we have Rome. There is no other place where you can so precisely understand our very personal vision of luxury.’

As for the Fendi apartment, which sits above the shop but below the hotel, it is the crown jewel of this new project. Salci and Moran were picked for the project nearly two years ago by Beccari and Silvia Venturini Fendi, creative director of Fendi’s accessories and menswear. ‘We love their work, their artistic approach, their aesthetics and their attention to detail,’ says Beccari, who together with Venturini Fendi commissioned the duo to create a collection of design pieces for Design Miami in 2014 in the lead up to the Palazzo’s refurbishment. Entitled ‘Roman Lounge’, the well-received display featured two light sculptures, a black iron and smoked glass bookcase, a square dining table, two crocodile and leather armchairs, and a sheared mink-covered chaise longue, all of which were originally conceived for this apartment. ‘Seeing these pieces in their ultimate destination is very exciting,’ says Venturini Fendi.

Known for their skilfully curated interiors, Salci and Moran have the eye of seasoned, finicky collectors, but also understand the joys of flopping on the couch. The combination of museum-worthy art and design pieces assembled in rooms that look holiday-home welcoming is spellbinding. ‘The space was already beautiful,’ says Moran. With lofty 4.2m-high ceilings, double doors, classic windows and massive piles of decorative stucco, there was plenty there for the duo to work with. ‘We wanted to just furnish it and put some colours in.’

Moran is being modest, of course. This was more than a quick paint job, and involved faithfully refurbishing all the historical details, right down to the brass doorknobs and the iron lattice entry way, in-depth research into rare vintage furniture and objects, and an injection of contemporary punch. 

Salci and Moran washed the walls and ceilings with a blue-grey shade of sage that they mixed themselves, resulting in a dramatic Ladurée box-effect. Vintage-looking matt brass touches, all custom-designed by Dimore, are everywhere – from doorway linings to the sculptural cages designed to cover unsightly radiators, air-conditioning units and lighting systems, and which glow like golden bamboo rods.

Even the lift has been caged in brass rods and capped with a huge sculptural dome that resembles an art deco perfume bottle. The designers added Kentia palms throughout the space and a 19th-century wood-bark carpet in the living room (‘It cost a fortune,’ admits Salci, slightly guiltily), which create an exotic, almost colonial feel to the space. ‘It’s not Roman,’ remarks Moran. ‘But it’s very Italian.’

‘It had to have a very warm feeling, not like a store, but a home to relax in, a place to drink a glass of wine or a cup of tea,’ says Salci. ‘So the lights were very important. There are no technical lights anywhere.’

Instead, every soft-glowing lamp is either a midcentury masterpiece, such as Ignazio Gardella’s table lamps for Azucena or Stilnovo appliques, or a custom-made piece by Dimore, like the sculptural brass and glass tube installation in the foyer, the wall sconce in the living room crafted from Fendi Selleria leather, or the monumental Pergamena leather and brass chandeliers hanging over the dining room table.

Just as homey are Axel Vervoordt’s upholstered armchairs, which Dimore paired with its own custom-made, gold silk-fringed, pine green velvet day beds in the living room. A cosy chaise longue, covered in Fendi’s plush sheared pink mink, paired with Meret Oppenheim’s 1949 ‘Traccia’ table, invites visitors to take a nap in the fitting room, where the walls are lined with midnight blue silk fabric. In the dining room, a giant square table with a geometric iron base, surrounded by chairs that Dimore sourced from the Fratelli Levaggi chair workshop in Liguria and covered with 1920s fabric, is large enough to host 16 people at a seated dinner. Meanwhile, the apartment’s exceptional collection of modern art includes pieces by Agostino Bonalumi, Lucio Fontana and Nunzio, on loan from the Mazzoleni gallery in Turin.

The apartment is intended to be used exclusively for entertaining Fendi’s top VIP and celebrity customers. ‘It will allow us to have some friends over for a meal or for drinks in the heart of the city,’ says Beccari. ‘It will be an experience money can’t buy.’  In fact, the only thing missing here is a bedroom. But with Fendi’s new hotel upstairs, beautiful sleeping arrangements are just a flight of stairs away.

As originally featured in the March 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Fendi’s website

Photography: Matteo Piazza 

Located within the burgeoning arts district of Guadalajara, Casa Fayette is the latest addition to Mexico-based Grupo Habita’s stable of boutique design hotels.

Curated by Milanese designers Dimorestudio, the property injects an intoxicating mix of mid-century modern and Jalisco artisan in the heart of Mexico's second largest metropolis and birthplace of leading architect Luis Barragan.

While the public areas of the hotel are housed in an elegant white colonial pile, the 37 rooms, pool and spa can be found in the newly added tower block. An air of monastic purity prevails in the rooms, where pale green, multifunctional headboards, which serve as both partition wall and wardrobe, are offset with pure white linens. Claw-foot tubs take centre stage in the bathrooms that are crafted entirely from Carrara marble and exquisitely accented with Mondrian-esque mirrors.

In the colonial house the vibe becomes more Carmen Miranda meets Hemingway, particularly the bar, as the Barragan inspired palette echoes brilliantly lush tropical prints.

ADDRESS

Lerdo de Tejada, 2308

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Cire Trudon’s claim to fame may be that it’s the world’s oldest candle manufacturer and thus supplied wax to the royal and imperial courts in France, but its timeless collection of scented candles, bust candles, room fragrances and scented matches are just as relevant in the present.

Cire Trudon’s evocative world can now be fully experienced stateside at the company’s first American boutique, located on a suitably well-heeled street in New York City’s Nolita neighbourhood. Newly opened this month, the bijou boutique serves up quintessential French flair with a contemporary twist.

'We wanted to bring some Paris to Nolita with a mix of classical and contemporary design that would work well for 400 sq ft,' says Julien Pruvost, the house’s executive director. 'I collaborated with the Paris-based architect Fabrizio Casiraghi, who understands the design sensibility of intimate spaces, French heritage and complimentary lighting techniques.'

Casiraghi, who left Dimore Studio to set up his own design firm earlier this year, embraced classical elements like mirrors and enameled surfaces, but delivered them with an urban feel. Inspired by a ‘Galerie des Glaces’ – a mirrored gallery typical of French chateaux and palaces, the intimate boutique is lined with mirrored tiles that concurrently emanates an edgy, almost disco ball effect. Minimal strips of neon lighting are juxtaposed by vintage notions, such as antique Japanese vases and a statuesque Art Deco lamp that decorates the service counter. Glass shelves around the room, which is painted a lacquered shade of Cire Trudon’s accent colour, burgundy, delicately display the house’s wares, along with an assortment of found objects, such as antique candlesnuffers, candleholders and more.

‘The space is conceived as a dual but unitary space. My aim was to create a balance between contemporary elements and traditional ones,’ explains Casiraghi. ‘For Cire Trudon I wanted to adapt the architectural language to the size of the boutique therefore, in order to achieve the harmony between old and new, I chose two elements: polished enamel and antique mirrors.

Concerning the layout I decided to emphasize the rectangular form of the boutique creating an even stronger corridor-effect:  the cabinets, the shelves and the products are placed all along the right-hand side. Even the spots on the ceiling follow this length-setting, driving clients’ eyes till the end of the boutique.’

INFORMATION

Website

ADDRESS

248 Elizabeth Street
New York, New York

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

From delicate and muted minimalism to eye-popping, era-hopping fancies, here are the designers who know how to mix, match, edit, illuminate, decorate and otherwise create sublime spaces… 

To celebrate our 200th issue, we decided to take our Power 100 and transform it into a meaty, two-ton Power 200; an upscaled calibration of design achievement. Or rather 100+100 (normal disservice will be resumed next year) – including the top 20 interior designers we who time and time and again create and compose the most seductive of spaces.

Kicking off our envy-inducing line up is the work of industry legends like Christian Liaigre, Dimore Studio, David Rockwell, Stéphane Parmentier and Roman & Williams. And it wouldn’t be a Wallpaper* celebration without a nod to minimalism, precise edits and arresting ideas. For that, we turn to Dorothee Meilichzon, Peter Marino, Chahan Minassian, Joseph Dirand and Gwenael Nicolas, the latter of whom is a Fendi favourite.

We’re not all about muted colours and clean lines though. India Mahdavi injects life through vivid hues and Mathias Kiss brings an artistic perspective to the table. And then, of course, there are those dedicate themselves to the world of hospitality, making those hotels and restaurants we can’t wait to visit and can’t bear to leave… Hong Kong-based Andre Fu, Toronto’s Yabu Pushelberg and London’s go-to man Martin Brudnizki, we’re blaming (and thanking) you.

Rounding off our selection of sumptuous space makers is queen rich materials Fiona Barratt-Campbell and big budget boho guru Francis Sultana. When the day is done and we need respite from the world or a cosy hideaway we turn to Ilse Crawford, Kelly Wearstler and Rose Uniacke, naturally. Who else?

See the Power 200 in full here

INFORMATION

See the Power 200 in full

Last week, two of our favourite Milanese design galleries decided to play a prank by switching their homes for a brief summer interlude. Luisa delle Piane, one of the city's most established gallerists, and Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, the young bucks behind the buzzy Dimore Gallery, each cleared out their locations to make room for the other's trove of design booty. 
 
'Luisa is someone we've known for 12 years and I love her to death,' explains Moran. 'Before we opened our own space, we'd always go to hers to source things for clients. Recently we were having conversations with her saying it would be nice if there were more collaborations between galleries in Milan. So finally we said, "let’s try it".'
 
Entitled 'Occupazione', the three-week long settlement kicked off with an all-night party at both galleries, during which a bus shuttled guests back and forth from Dimore's Brera space to that of delle Piane in Chinatown, to enjoy the festivities at both locations. 
 
Dimore brought a wealth of their designs to delle Piane's space, filling her neutral, raw-walled gallery with their own products; the work ranged from valuable mid-century gems like Giò Ponti sofas and arm chair sets from the Parco de Principi hotel, to Albini bookcases and new Dimore Studio designs such as screens made from metal and mirror, or their own custom-made fabrics.
 
'Her style is completely different from ours, but she has the most amazing eye,' Moran explains. 'She's much more artsy than we are. We're more decorative. It was nice to see our pieces somewhere else.'
 
Meanwhile, Dimore's cozy apartment-esque gallery was transformed into a home for delle Piane’s more conceptual design. Of the many rooms, one was dedicated to the work of Ettore Sottsass, while another featured a quirky seating installation by Italian artist Mario Ceroli.
 
A different DJ was stationed at each location: Nicola Guiducci at Luisa delle Piane’s gallery and Alex Carrara at Dimore’s both drew cool, arty crowds drinking icy beer and rocking out for hours.  

'It was more a party than anything else,' Moran observes, with a chuckle. 'I hope it turns into a lucrative event, but if not that's ok too. It's always fun to think about these things and to experiment. I'd like to make it happen more often.'

ADDRESS

Dimore Gallery
Via Giusti 24
Milan

Galeria Luisa delle Piane
Via Solferino 11
Milan

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

If the wisteria waterfalls of Brera's Botanical Garden (or the charming spread of gleaming, golden Laviani animal statues dotted around) don't get to you first, Be Open's Garden of Wonders will.

The international foundation of design and creativity has taken the world of fragrance to heady new heights with its latest project, a threefold approach to the world of fragrance. 'It is our way of proposing an alternative way - through design - to preserve traditions by adapting them to contemporary challenges and eventually explore new possibilities for small brands,' explains Be Open founder Yelena Baturina.

To begin with, the educational piece, 'A Journey Through Scent', narrates the evolution of perfume and fragrance - as well as its production and history - through an olfactory experience. Submerged in a dark mini-museum, large glass flasks and bottles hold what appear to be granules of salt. Giant atomisers reveals an ingenious way to share intense bursts of the different scents without these mixing up into a strange, sickly concoction.

Back in the garden, in the far side, the 'Houses of Wonder' are most exciting of all. These eight 'casitas' house pavilions have been created by various designers to revive and interpret long-forgotten perfume brands. Among the designers looking back at defunct luxury labels are Tord Boontje, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Dimore Studio, Front, Jaime Hayon, Piero Lissoni, Jean-Marie Massaud and Nendo. Their design aesthetic is clearly recognisable - the Campana Brothers interpretation of Veredas, for example, was inspired by Gruta do Veredas, a natural grotto in the state of Bahia in Brazil, and brought to life with a wicker, cave-like installation. Others, like Front and Dimore Studio, have taken a more sensory approach by using fading lights and the sound of rain respectively to illustrate their fragrances.

For the the third and final part of the project, 'A Vision in a Box',  a golden cube-like display holds the bottles of nine totally different designers. Illustrating the importance of packaging, names such as Werner Aisslinger, GamFratesi, Mist-o and Thukral & Tagra have taken on the challenge of imagining bottles for the fragrance of the future.

The exhibition's Salone debut has undoubtedly been well received - no doubt in part thanks to the glorious weather which brings out the best of the Brera gardens - and is set to continue for EXPO 2015 in May.

ADDRESS

The Orto Botanico di Brera
via Brera 28
20121 Milano

View Google Maps

'Everyone I wanted to see in Milan is in this room right now,' beamed Rossana Orlandi behind her oversized white sunglasses as she mingled among the architects and designers who gathered at a special dinner to toast this year's Wallpaper* Design Award winners; and we couldn’t have agreed with the design doyenne more.

High-profile creatives such as Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci of Dimore Studio (whose 'Lamp 061' won for Best Space Race), Rodolfo Dordoni (winner of Best Executive Office), mingled happily with high-powered CEOs including B&B Italia’s Giorgio Busnelli and Poltrona Frau Group’s Dario Rinero, together with local hotshots such as chef Carlo Cracco and art director Tanja Solci.

The setting was the dramatically-lit Carlo e Camilla in Segheria, which is not only Milan’s current top dining destination - and run by Solci and Cracco - but also the winner of the Best New Restaurant award, crowned from a shortlist chosen by Wallpaper’s pernickety staff. Other winners including Designer of the Year Patricia Urquiola (who joint-scooped it with Konstantin Grcic) and architect Vincenzo de Cotiis (Best Grid for his ʻDC 1406Aʼ brass chandelier) were caught at home with a nasty bug that had half of the city bedridden last week - although Urquiola's partner in business and life, Alberto Zontone, was there to accept the award on her behalf.

But the crowd nonetheless swelled with some of our favourite Milan-based talent including art director Giulio Cappellini, architect Fabio Novembre, Gufram owner Charley Vezza, Molteni’s Francesca Molteni, curator Caroline Corbetta and Salone Satellite founder Marva Griffin Wilshire. They were joined by Vogue Italia editor-at-large Cesare Cunaccia, art director Roberto da Pozzo, Philipp Plein head of marketing and PR Ludivine Pont, Seletti owner Stefano Seletti, Henraux president Paolo Carli and Leclettico owner Claudio Loria.

The awards were handed out in a rowdy, rambunctious way by our own fearless Editor-in-Chief Tony Chambers who kept spirits high, while guests feasted on a sumptuous meal of lime-zested risotto and lamb shanks, staying in the glorious setting into the wee hours of the morning - which is exactly our kind of awards evening.

Nestled within a picturesque courtyard on Via Sant'Andrea, in the heart of Milan's Quadrilatero della Moda, Italian designer Giambattista Valli's Milanese flagship is a veritable Valli universe. Inside, shoppers will find a showcase of the designer's entire ready-to-wear womenswear line displayed alongside accessories including bags, shoes, furs and jewellery. They can also take advantage of the store's exclusive, exotic leather skins service, which allows clients to place custom orders for bespoke Valli bags and shoes.

The impressive 130 sq m store, designed by Luigi Scialanga, who also conceived the Italian designer's two Parisian boutiques, includes a double-height gallery space where pink tinted walls are lined with mirrored shelves and black steel rails. Three mid-century brass chandeliers hang from the exposed wood beam ceiling, which provides a glimpse of the building's past.

ADDRESS

Giambattista Valli
Via Sant'Andrea
12 Milano
Italy

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Give 13 interior designers - the likes of Rafael de Cárdenas, Joseph Dirand, Vincent Darré, Britt Moran and Dimore Studio's Emiliano Salci - the theme 'Journeys of the imagination' and their interpretations will result in quite an interior design trip.

Welcome to the third annual AD Interieurs, an installation event overseen by AD magazine, which opened in Paris to the public on Saturday and runs until 21 September.

Within the Beaux Arts auction house Artcurial, just off the Champs-Elysées, two floors have been transformed into daring showpieces - the types of rooms that beckon inhabitants of a cinematic scale.

Indeed, designer Rafael de Cárdenas says he envisions none other Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie settling into his 9.3m by 3.5m space.

'It's romantic but also melancholic,' explains de Cardenas, whose Architecture At Large studio is headquartered in New York but also has a London satellite.

Black marble walls instantly establish dramatic darkness. But wait, they're actually a rigid composite trompe l'oeil. 'I think I want it to be a little subversive and index the temporary-ness,' he says, noting that he deliberately floated the interior cladding so that people would pick up on the faux marble.

Whereas several designers opted for a single-use space, de Cárdenas - who recently collaborated with Kartell for our 2012 Handmade exhibition in Milan - created two angular modules that come together as an otherworldly bachelor pad. A bed has been elevated ziggurat-style with a bench extension for extra seating. Then there's a table, above which an LED-lit Baccarat chandelier hovers, suspended from a massive cube-shaped metal frame. It's TRON via Paris.

De Cárdenas, who launched his first furniture collection in 2011, brings a non-conformist spirit to the show house template. By adding a pulsing, suspenseful soundtrack composed by Allies for Everyone, he also underscores the impact of designing a space with sound. 'I probably spent the longest amount of time on the music,' he jokes of the motif, which disparately draws from Bernard Herrmann, Bauhaus and Tangerine Dream.

Elsewhere, Dirand conceived an impressive bathroom - more like a bath salon - with the support of Louis Vuitton. Beyond a gold-flecked upholstered daybed and a beautifully honed marble tub, its vastness conveyed luxury more than any single flourish; walls were minimally adorned and purity of form took precedence

Darré, in contrast, combined luxe eccentricity with savoir-faire; his boudoir required 50 applications of gold leaf and lacquer to achieve the glossy, painterly finish. And then, instead of settling for an antiqued mirror, he put silver leaf behind the glass; voilà, a metallic, mercury-tinged reflection.

Dimore Studio's Moran and Salci played off the idea of lost travels in Italy by assembling a richly-layered study furnished with Gio Ponti's wicker chairs and a new Hermès upholstery that they turned into folding screens. Handcrafted triangular terracotta tiles in green, grey and pink suggest a nod to arte provera. 'We didn't want it to be too stuffy,' says Moran. Imagination, in other words, made real.